However Parker, who made over 100 appearances for the Red Devils in his five years in Manchester, thinks it would be a mistake to appoint the former Real Madrid, Inter Milan and Porto boss.

“To suggest that [Mourinho] could walk in to a crisis situation at United and turn it around is absurd,” Parker wrote in his Eurosport column.

“That’s something he’s never done in his career, and this really wouldn’t be the time to start. He’s lost a huge amount of respect in the game, and I suspect the players at United hate the idea of him taking over.

“Frankly, given how unhappy the players are right now, they’d be better off bringing in Tim Sherwood between now and the end of the season: someone to soft soap the players, give them a bit of a cuddle, get them feeling good about themselves once again.

“Sadly, as we’ve seen with Tim, those sorts of managers don’t work long term. And United need to start thinking about the long term as soon as possible, because if not they face the ultimate danger: turning into the new Liverpool.”